My rate of anime viewing declined sharply over the second semester. Distracted by Chuck and then isolated at HoneyRock, I watched very little from spring break to now. But I'm back at school in Fe, and you better believe that Saturday morning Anime club is up and running. But no more will I scurry like a desert rat to the computer lab! I ordered a laptop a few weeks ago, and word on the street is that it's arriving in but three days! I should have it hooked up to the Internet and watch my virgin anime Saturday morning. I think it will be Deathnote or Cowboy Bebop. Then I will watch the entire series, following it will another classic like Eva or Lain, and find something new! Apparently FLCL is very good.
I will be watching anime regularly come Saturday and Sunday, for the official Anime Club will be running by then as well. The Anime Archon (I forget his name) said we would begin with a Miyazaki film (naturally I am okay with this) and then something different.
I will check back again when I have my laptop. Cheers!
8.31.2009
3.14.2009
Claymore over Break
I discovered yet a new anime - Claymore. I had passed over it a few times before, thinking it uninteresting, but my kid brother watched an episode and I watched the pilot soon afterwards. I have now finished little less than half the series, and though I could finish it quickly, wish to pace myself, for I like it very much.
Seldom has an anime had such a formative influence upon me. I mean that seldom have I wished to be a character more than now. The lone wolf hunter, quiet and exceptionally skilled; the nomad, mercenary wanderer traveling from village to village, killing demons at the citizens' behest; I wish to be one of them. Their weaponry and armor entrance me, their sense of service and duty awes me, as does their tragedy.
Oddly enough, Buffy the Vampire Slayer affected me in a similar way (though I suppose Claymore is more similar to Vampire Hunter D). In that case however, I wanted to be a Slayer because I thought only a man could do it right. The 'heroine' spent her time moaning and complaining; she had no sense of honor or duty and thus I despised her. But Claymores? They're different. They seldom complain, they normally work alone, and die at the hands of their comrades or are torn to pieces by demons. They are honorable, courageous, and deadly.
Alas, for fantasy is not the real world. It's a shame, really. I should have liked to live in that strange medieval-like world, killing demons and serving a shadowy, suspicious-looking organization. I, however, would learn from Teresa and Clare: never become attached to a human if you are a Claymore; it only leads to trouble.
Post Script: I have finished the series, and have doubts about the organization. extra-anime sources inform me the organization's purpose is creating superweapons (Awakened Beings) for powerful nations across the sea, that Rabona is but an island testing ground. This unnerves me and crushes my idealism, but I will remember it every time I watch the first six episodes.
Farewell, Rabona. I will serve you in my dreams.
Seldom has an anime had such a formative influence upon me. I mean that seldom have I wished to be a character more than now. The lone wolf hunter, quiet and exceptionally skilled; the nomad, mercenary wanderer traveling from village to village, killing demons at the citizens' behest; I wish to be one of them. Their weaponry and armor entrance me, their sense of service and duty awes me, as does their tragedy.
Oddly enough, Buffy the Vampire Slayer affected me in a similar way (though I suppose Claymore is more similar to Vampire Hunter D). In that case however, I wanted to be a Slayer because I thought only a man could do it right. The 'heroine' spent her time moaning and complaining; she had no sense of honor or duty and thus I despised her. But Claymores? They're different. They seldom complain, they normally work alone, and die at the hands of their comrades or are torn to pieces by demons. They are honorable, courageous, and deadly.
Alas, for fantasy is not the real world. It's a shame, really. I should have liked to live in that strange medieval-like world, killing demons and serving a shadowy, suspicious-looking organization. I, however, would learn from Teresa and Clare: never become attached to a human if you are a Claymore; it only leads to trouble.
Post Script: I have finished the series, and have doubts about the organization. extra-anime sources inform me the organization's purpose is creating superweapons (Awakened Beings) for powerful nations across the sea, that Rabona is but an island testing ground. This unnerves me and crushes my idealism, but I will remember it every time I watch the first six episodes.
Farewell, Rabona. I will serve you in my dreams.
2.08.2009
New Series, Updated Site
I have finished both seasons of Ah! My Goddess! and I was very impressed. The art is beautiful, the characters are humorous without being moronic, and the ever present love theme is carefully developed. The series will probably cease being good either in the third or fourth season, but I'll definitely watch season three when it is released.
I am rewatching Eva and paying attention to every detail. It is just as disturbing as I remember it, and I remember why it is called the best anime ever written.I expect to finish it before spring break.
I have included a running list of all anime media I have watched, film and series combined. I updated it with Gungrave and Ah My Goddess and will continue to add new anime I see as I finish it. In this regard I have a new series I think I will try: Elfen Lied. I hear it is exceptionally violent and has explicit nudity (this is disappointing) but I also hear it is tremendous. I will see for myself. It is short, so I'll likely finish it before break is up, and then I'll try either more Ghost in the Shell or something of that caliber.
I am rewatching Eva and paying attention to every detail. It is just as disturbing as I remember it, and I remember why it is called the best anime ever written.I expect to finish it before spring break.
I have included a running list of all anime media I have watched, film and series combined. I updated it with Gungrave and Ah My Goddess and will continue to add new anime I see as I finish it. In this regard I have a new series I think I will try: Elfen Lied. I hear it is exceptionally violent and has explicit nudity (this is disappointing) but I also hear it is tremendous. I will see for myself. It is short, so I'll likely finish it before break is up, and then I'll try either more Ghost in the Shell or something of that caliber.
1.15.2009
At Long Last, New Series!
I have discovered a few new anime series after being long hesitant about anything new. This hesitation is for several reaons, all of them at least adaquate and most of them good.
Reason number one: I don't have a lot of time anymore. Classes, preparation for classes, and work dominate most of my life, and since I am taking a Latin elective (technically "Latin Study Group"), my free time during the weekends is threatened as well.
Reason number two: what free time I have is mostly available to extra curricular reading. I am tackling Aristotle's Physics, Metaphysics, and On the Soul this semester and they eat up a lot of time as I try to parse Aristotle's arguments. This means the time I have available to actually watch anime is severely terribly limited. I cannot attend the Anime Club on campus for it meets at a most inconvenient time - 9:30 on a Tuesday night. Tuesday! That's right before my hell day! Last year was 8:00PM Sunday, most excellent. Thus I am limited to get up early on the weekend (Saturday or Sunday) when user bandwidth consumption is virtually nil. I I could do this during the week (I've tried this) but my academics suffer. 0500 Saturday is it then.
Reason number three: I have watched a number of very good TV series and films at the recommendation of experienced Johnnies like Sterling Pratt. Once such wise counsel is gone I am alone in the dark. Proof: I am still trying to scrub my eyes after watching Vampire Hunter D. (this is not to be confused with the sequel, Bloodlust, which I found to be marvelous) I thus fear terrible films and series.
Regardless, I have now watched Ghost in the Shell and will soon watch the entire franchise. I thought the first film was spectacularly well done, if a bit awkward. What I remember from last year's TV series (SAC season I) was better. Additionally, I found a gem and you won't believe what it is. Ah! My Goddess! See? How can a fiercely single philosopher find such a lovesick, simple anime enthralling? Because it is charming, warm, lighthearted, and full of goodness. In an age where licentiousness, hookups, and love are all synomymous, we have Ah! My Goddess!, where they most certainly are not. Indeed, the series' playboy character is repeatedly punished by a vengeful deity for his sexual advances. In the series, love and sex are certainly not the same; the latter is for the sake of the former. More people need to hear that, especially me.
Thus I am excited for the New Year. I will exercise my discernment and if something is bad, I will simply turn it off. (this is not nearly so easy as it sounds - I am the person who always finishes a movie and a book, regardless of quality) I have been burned in both genre, resolve to do better, and am excited about doing so. Welcome, 2009!
Reason number one: I don't have a lot of time anymore. Classes, preparation for classes, and work dominate most of my life, and since I am taking a Latin elective (technically "Latin Study Group"), my free time during the weekends is threatened as well.
Reason number two: what free time I have is mostly available to extra curricular reading. I am tackling Aristotle's Physics, Metaphysics, and On the Soul this semester and they eat up a lot of time as I try to parse Aristotle's arguments. This means the time I have available to actually watch anime is severely terribly limited. I cannot attend the Anime Club on campus for it meets at a most inconvenient time - 9:30 on a Tuesday night. Tuesday! That's right before my hell day! Last year was 8:00PM Sunday, most excellent. Thus I am limited to get up early on the weekend (Saturday or Sunday) when user bandwidth consumption is virtually nil. I I could do this during the week (I've tried this) but my academics suffer. 0500 Saturday is it then.
Reason number three: I have watched a number of very good TV series and films at the recommendation of experienced Johnnies like Sterling Pratt. Once such wise counsel is gone I am alone in the dark. Proof: I am still trying to scrub my eyes after watching Vampire Hunter D. (this is not to be confused with the sequel, Bloodlust, which I found to be marvelous) I thus fear terrible films and series.
Regardless, I have now watched Ghost in the Shell and will soon watch the entire franchise. I thought the first film was spectacularly well done, if a bit awkward. What I remember from last year's TV series (SAC season I) was better. Additionally, I found a gem and you won't believe what it is. Ah! My Goddess! See? How can a fiercely single philosopher find such a lovesick, simple anime enthralling? Because it is charming, warm, lighthearted, and full of goodness. In an age where licentiousness, hookups, and love are all synomymous, we have Ah! My Goddess!, where they most certainly are not. Indeed, the series' playboy character is repeatedly punished by a vengeful deity for his sexual advances. In the series, love and sex are certainly not the same; the latter is for the sake of the former. More people need to hear that, especially me.
Thus I am excited for the New Year. I will exercise my discernment and if something is bad, I will simply turn it off. (this is not nearly so easy as it sounds - I am the person who always finishes a movie and a book, regardless of quality) I have been burned in both genre, resolve to do better, and am excited about doing so. Welcome, 2009!
9.28.2008
Returned!
I'm back at school, and hard at work watching new anime. Unfortunately, my once-faithful sites proved defunct, requiring new software undownloadable on public computers and my Ghost in the Shell ambitions are ruined. Fortunately, I found a new site that may prove fruitful. I'm rewatching Bebop, then maybe Eva, and then something new. I'm going to have fun!
8.14.2008
Interlude
Until I return to St. John's, my anime viewing will be sharply limited and I will see few, if any, new material. Over the fall semester, I hope to watch Outlaw Star, Eva, DeathNote, and a few other new ones I'm considering. With anime my problem is opposite the others - I tend to bite off more than I should chew, if you know what I mean. Therefore I mean to strictly control myself and not let my passive side get the best of me.
8.04.2008
Disney vs. Anime
It is a very silly question, I know, but I asked it to myself anyway; which is better, Disney or Anime? Perhaps that is the wrong question though. Disney movies are overwhelmingly geared towards a younger audience - take Cinderella, Snow White, and even classics like Beauty and the Beast. Thus Disney's animation is oftentimes beautifully done and the films are engaging, yet they seem a little puerile on occasion. Therein lies the difference, I think. Anime is most certainly not geared towards a younger audience exclusively - Eva, Death Note, Princess Mononoke, Lain, and films like Paprika are very much intended for mature audiences. Who in their right mind would let a six year old watch the final episodes of Eva? Not I! I would slap an R rating on Eva immediately and without second thought. This difference means that anime is free to explore adult themes and complex issues that would evade the mind of a six-year-old. Such a child could easily enjoy an anime classic like Spirited Away but be lost, terrified, and confused in Death Note.
On the other hand, the classic Disney movies (Fox and the Hound, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Robin Hood, The Jungle Book, Bambi, etc.) never lose their innocence and beauty precisely because they are intended to be enjoyed by young children. Even now can I watch those films and deeply appreciate the themes treated in them; friendship, responsibility, love, service, maturity, loss of innocence, and so on. Some part of those works will impact me in some way the anime never will, usually on an emotional level. (I still wish to weep when I watch The Fox and the Hound)
However, anime causes me to think in ways I have never thought before. Death Note, anyone? I am still distressed by that series, and though I'll probably work my way through it again in the fall, it horrifies and entrances me. Lain. Paprika. Princess Mononoke. Grave of the Fireflies (almost unviewable). All these films stirred my intellect and forced me to look at things in a different light; there are no hard and fast answers to the questions they pose and the themes they explore, whether or not they do so at the child's level.
Thus I conclude: my opening question was patently absurd. Disney and anime are far too different to be accurately contrasted though they share the same medium. How can childlike innocence (which all Disney classics display proudly) be compared with the rigorous intellectualism (oftentimes not appropriate for the child) of anime? (I am conveniently ignoring anime films geared towards children like Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, etc.) I am convinced they cannot. The very element that makes Disney films themselves is precisely the limitation that anime removes whenever it is convenient. Sometimes both Disney and anime fail at their intended target when creating films or television series, but there can be no dispute over the clear distinction of their methods.
On the other hand, the classic Disney movies (Fox and the Hound, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Robin Hood, The Jungle Book, Bambi, etc.) never lose their innocence and beauty precisely because they are intended to be enjoyed by young children. Even now can I watch those films and deeply appreciate the themes treated in them; friendship, responsibility, love, service, maturity, loss of innocence, and so on. Some part of those works will impact me in some way the anime never will, usually on an emotional level. (I still wish to weep when I watch The Fox and the Hound)
However, anime causes me to think in ways I have never thought before. Death Note, anyone? I am still distressed by that series, and though I'll probably work my way through it again in the fall, it horrifies and entrances me. Lain. Paprika. Princess Mononoke. Grave of the Fireflies (almost unviewable). All these films stirred my intellect and forced me to look at things in a different light; there are no hard and fast answers to the questions they pose and the themes they explore, whether or not they do so at the child's level.
Thus I conclude: my opening question was patently absurd. Disney and anime are far too different to be accurately contrasted though they share the same medium. How can childlike innocence (which all Disney classics display proudly) be compared with the rigorous intellectualism (oftentimes not appropriate for the child) of anime? (I am conveniently ignoring anime films geared towards children like Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, etc.) I am convinced they cannot. The very element that makes Disney films themselves is precisely the limitation that anime removes whenever it is convenient. Sometimes both Disney and anime fail at their intended target when creating films or television series, but there can be no dispute over the clear distinction of their methods.
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